WASHINGTON (AP) — Three months after announcing its intention to largely comply with an international treaty banning land mines, the Obama administration on Tuesday carved out an exception for its stockpile of the weapons on the Korean Peninsula.

The White House, Pentagon and State Department announced the move in simultaneous statements as President Barack Obama prepared to travel to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. They said the U.S. remains committed to joining the Ottawa Convention that involves 161 other nations, including all other NATO members, and will uphold treaty requirements outside of Korea.